High Sensitivity
by Aetraega
Summary: If there’s one thing Rachel Berry just doesn’t understand, it’s Quinn Fabray. A sequel to "I Can't Do This Alone."
1. Part One

**High Sensitivity**

**Part One**

"Will you all just stop?" Quinn's harsh voice cut through those of the rest of the Gleeks, ushering them into hushed whispers. Rachel let out a labored breath, finally able to drop her guard a little. She'd just been suggesting a simple change to the choreography that would make their number run so much smoother, but Kurt and Mercedes freaked out. The singer had tried to ignore much of what they were saying to her, but it was hard not to hear when they called her a 'selfish, self-centered control freak who didn't know how to keep her mouth shut.' What was she supposed to say to that? It wasn't like she could try and refute their claims, especially not after Artie and Tina joined in, they just wouldn't listen to her. Instead, she just forced back her tears and tried to argue her point for the change in choreography. Just because they were being mean didn't mean that she had to back down. She'd never backed down before, after all, and they had never even tried to be nice to her. "Do you all want to win or not?"

Rachel was really surprised at the tone of Quinn's voice. It was harsher than any tone she'd ever used with her, and she'd been cutthroat. At least when they bickered, it seemed like Quinn was enjoying herself. This time around, she was just mad, and Rachel was getting the feeling that the rest of the Glee club did not want to mess with an angry pregnant girl, especially when that girl was Quinn.

"Because right now, you're all being inconceivably petty, and it's really starting to make me mad." Quinn continued. "Rachel's right, changing the choreography in the way she said will make the number run more smoothly, but you're all too busy acting on your dislike of her to realize that she has a valid point. I'm sick and tired of you all going after her like a pack of rabid dogs every single practice. She's just trying to help, so why don't you all just lay the fuck off."

Rachel couldn't ignore how her heart seemed to thump just a little bit faster in her chest. Her mind snapped back to the moment between her and Quinn only a few weeks before, the moment that she was sure was going to be the end of her, but turned out to be quite the opposite. Quinn had been acting nice for the past few weeks, smiling at her instead of smirking, greeting her in the halls, and sometimes even sitting next to her in Glee when no one else would. The brunette found it nice having someone who seemed to really care about her. For as much as she liked Finn and Finn seemed to like her, he'd never once stood up for her in Glee, not even when they'd attacked her in worse ways. He always just watched with that look in his eye like he was a giant puppy that had gotten kicked, but he'd never even tried to do anything about it.

There was just so much she didn't understand. She didn't understand why Finn didn't do anything about his obvious feelings for her. She didn't understand why she didn't care anymore if he tried or not. She didn't understand why she didn't get butterflies in her stomach when he looked at her, like she used to, instead finding them replaced with a feeling of uneasiness and dread. Most importantly, though, she didn't understand where Quinn Fabray fit in to any of this.

The girl had been so nice to her, it felt like a complete turnaround. She didn't understand why she wasn't feeling wearier of the girl than she was. Chalking it up to desperation didn't make sense. She was Rachel Berry, she didn't get desperate, not to the point where she would completely compromise herself and everything she stood for. Besides, it just didn't feel like Quinn was out to hurt her. She was acting too sincere for that, and Quinn wasn't that good of a liar. The singer was certain that Quinn had been blushing in the car two weeks before, and while she didn't know what that had meant, it had to mean something. It just had to mean something, in the same way that she couldn't help but remember the feeling of Quinn's soft lips in her cheek every time the girl did something nice for her. If she was going to be honest, Quinn Fabray just confused her in general.

It was frustrating that she couldn't figure out exactly what she was feeling and why. She didn't appreciate the loss of control in the matter. It was something she'd come to realize with her relationships with everyone. She needed to have some semblance of control, either over the course of her relationship or over her feelings. She'd done it with both Puck and Finn, but for some reason, she couldn't do it with Quinn. She couldn't stop herself from feeling whatever it was she was feeling for Quinn. No matter how hard she tried, no matter how long she laid awake at night and tossed and turned, the warm feeling in her chest would always seep back through. It was slow at first, but every so often, it would hit her like a hammer. Her heart would clench and she would feel dizzy, leaving her completely and utterly unable to focus on anything other than the girl with the sad hazel eyes. It was infuriating to no end, but she couldn't help but love it.

After Glee, Rachel found herself walking out of the school next to Quinn. Finn had gone off with Puck, they were having some sort of guy's night, leaving Quinn alone. It was almost a relief, because it left her able to be free and open around the blonde without worrying about Finn's pitiful gaze.

"I really appreciate what you did back there…" Rachel's voice was barely above a whisper as they walked down the front steps of the school and towards Quinn's car. "Thank you." Quinn shook her head softly, her blonde curls bouncing ever so slightly. The brunette couldn't help but smile at her.

"You don't have to thank me. They really were making me angry. It's all so ridiculous, you know? It's not like they're being subtle about their reasons for going after you." Quinn uttered as they reached her car. She paused for a moment at the driver's side door to look up at Rachel, her eyes asking for something her lips couldn't communicate, but it was something that Rachel didn't recognize. "Do you want to go for a drive?" Her voice was soft again, almost apprehensive. The singer wanted to tell her that 'want' was the wrong word to use in that question. Ever since the first time, she'd always wanted to go for a drive with Quinn. Even when they weren't talking, it was nice to just be in the company of someone that she could let her guard down around, at least somewhat.

Silence was where they ended up, but just as before, it was not unpleasant. They drove towards the outskirts of town, chasing the sun across the farmland as it began to sink below the horizon. It was well past rush hour by the time that they decided to stop and park for a moment, leaving them nearly alone as they sat in a small dirt pull off from the main road. Rachel couldn't stop thinking about how nice it was, to be sitting in a warm car with good company. No matter what her mind kept trying to tell her, her heart insisted that Quinn was a good person, and what kind of aspiring Broadway star would she be if she didn't follow her heart every once and a while?

It was Quinn that broke the silence as they both stared out of their respective windows, watching the stars slowly appear in the clear night sky.

"I'm sorry." The blonde sounds pained, like she's fighting to get her words past the lump beginning to form in her throat. It's a feeling that Rachel knows all too well, but its obvious Quinn hadn't learned how to hide it yet. Either that, or she just didn't want to. For once in her life, Rachel didn't interrupt, instead allowing Quinn to talk. "I've done such horrible things to you, and I don't even understand why. I mean, look at you. You're gorgeous, you're driven, you're passionate, and you've got a voice so amazing that I can't even describe it. You're everything most girls want to be and more. People treat you like crap every day, and you're still so nice to everybody. I don't understand it, but, I know you're something special. You're good enough to get out of here, Rachel, and I don't know why they're trying to hold you back, or why I tried to hold you back. God, I'm so sorry…" She choked out the last line with a sob, and Rachel quickly reached across the center console to place a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm not going to say its okay, everything you did to me, but I forgive you." Rachel spoke in a gentle voice, rubbing soft circles on Quinn's back. Even though she couldn't make out Quinn's features in the darkness, she could see her frame shaking softly. Without thinking, the brunette unbuckled her seatbelt and scooted over until she was straddling the center console, allowing her to wrap her arms around Quinn.

Quinn didn't cry like her, was the first thing she noticed. Quinn cried much in the same way that she seemed to hold herself, poised, graceful, introverted. She was nearly silent as the tears rolled down her cheeks in soft streams, her body shaking in Rachel's arms. It was almost like she was ashamed to be crying, or ashamed to be crying in front of somebody else. It didn't seem like something she would appreciate, so Rachel just held her until her tears stopped. It wasn't more than a minute or two, but every second that the pregnant girl spent leaning in to her felt like a beautiful eternity. Her heart was telling her that this was right, and she'd already decided that she was going to always listen to her heart when it came to Quinn, because her mind just seemed to confuse things.

Softly, Quinn pulled away and dried her eyes on the back of her sleeves, ushering Rachel back in to her seat. Within moments, they were traveling back down the nearly-empty road from which they'd come, ending up back at the Berry residence in less than a half an hour. For a moment, they just sat in a tense silence, the car idling. Neither Rachel nor Quinn seemed to know what to do, but both wanted to do something. Rachel acted first.

She leaned over, placing a gentle peck against Quinn's cheek. It was different than the slow, hesitant kiss the blonde had given her a few weeks before. It was exuberant, with only a hint of shyness. Still, it lasted just a moment too long, enough to raise heat to the singer's cheeks, but she just couldn't make herself pull away. Quinn didn't seem to mind, and she was smiling when Rachel pulled back. She paused for a second, her fingers curled on the cool metal of the car door handle.

"You're not the person you used to be, Quinn. You've changed, and in my opinion, it's for the better." When Quinn didn't look up from the steering wheel at her words, the brunette opted for humor. "I could write up a list of pros and cons for you, if you'd like. I could even color code it." That encouraged a smile out of her, and Rachel smiled brightly back.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Rachel." Quinn's voice was warm and sweet and genuinely happy, the smile painting her features finally reaching her crystalline eyes, forcing out the sorrow that had enveloped them for so long and replacing it with something much brighter. Rachel was certain she'd never seen anything more beautiful in her life.


	2. Part Two

**High Sensitivity**

**Part Two**

Ever since Quinn had snapped at them, Kurt and Mercedes had backed off, keeping their general displeasure towards Rachel at a level of whispers and hot stares. It was a relief, to be able to come to Glee and only have to deal with a minimal quiet dislike. Even Brittany and Santana had begun talking to her, and she found they were both nicer than she'd originally thought. 'They just keep to themselves, mostly.' Quinn had explained, and it was true. Brittany was a sweetheart, and Santana was a bitch, but it was beginning to border on charming. It was something she hadn't expected, but she was certainly happier than she'd been in a long time, and it was all thanks to Quinn. She still didn't understand why the girl was so sudden to change her feelings towards her, but she'd finally accepted that she just wasn't able to decipher the blonde's thought process.

They were working on their numbers for Sectionals when it happened. Quinn slipped and hit the ground with a thump. Before her soft cry of pain even reached Rachel's ears, the singer was on her knees beside her. Without thinking, she wrapped one arm around the blonde's back and the other landed softly on her stomach. Quinn didn't try and fight her, she just sat still, her brow furrowed in pain.

"Are you okay? I mean, I'm sure you're okay, it was just a little fall, but is the baby okay? I read somewhere that falls during pregnancy can induce labor or hurt the baby, but that's only in some cases. I don't want to scare you or anything, I just want to make sure that both you and the baby are okay because-"

"Rachel!" Quinn had no venom in her voice, but she could tell it hurt from the slightly pained way she spoke. "I'm fine, the baby's fine. It was just a fall, okay?" Rachel nodded in return, letting out a breath she'd been holding in. She had no idea what she would do if Quinn or the baby had been seriously hurt. She was her only thread of friendship, and she'd grown to care about both her and her unborn baby more than she could even describe. Her fingers twitched slightly against Quinn's stomach as she fought back the urge to tighten her grip on the girl, to pull her in to a hug and whisper in her ear how glad she was that she was okay. It would have been ridiculous to actually do, because not only was the entire Glee club watching with wide eyes, it was just a little fall and Quinn was fine. She'd have some unsightly bruises, but she was fine. There was no reason for her to be so worried, but her heart was racing wildly and she could practically feel the adrenaline coursing through her veins, making her tremble.

Slowly, she helped Quinn up off the floor and in to a chair, for which the girl thanked her with a soft smile. Rachel smiled back, trying to convey every ounce of gratefulness. The blonde caught her gaze, her eyes just as piercing as ever, and Rachel was certain that the girl could feel what she was trying to tell her. It wasn't just because she had been scared for a moment, she really was very grateful for Quinn. She was completely indescribable, but they got along so well when they dug past all the bullshit and stopped their petty bickering. Quinn was sweet and gentle and surprisingly shy, a complement to her. Rachel found herself hoping that Quinn saw her in the same light. She smiled, so small and yet so brilliant, through her pain, making the singer's breath hitch despite all of her voice lessons. Being around her was like living in a dream, where everything was so real and surreal at the same time, and Rachel never wanted to wake up. Her waking dreams never seemed to last forever, though, and she pulled her eyes from Quinn's at the sound of Noah and Finn much closer to them then they had been before. She didn't even have a chance to figure out what they were going on about before Quinn snapped.

"Just shut up, both of you. I'm fine, there's no reason for you to start bickering like old women!" Rachel stood fully and took a step back, shooting a glance at both Noah and Finn. Both were looking down at the floor, their mouths shut tight. There certainly was a lot of power behind Quinn's voice when she snapped, more so than Santana, and the boys' reactions were not any different from those of the rest of the Glee Club. For some reason, an inexplicable happiness arose inside of the brunette, and she didn't try to drive it away. Practice continued soon after, but not lacking tension.

After Glee Club and a quick promise to Mr. Schuester that they would shut the door when they left, Rachel and Quinn found themselves alone in the auditorium. The ex-cheerio was sitting on the edge of the stage, eyes in her lap, legs swinging in the empty air. She looked uneasy, and it felt perfectly natural for Rachel to sit down next to her and drape an arm across her shoulders. For a moment she was fine, her fingers twisting uncomfortably in the fabric of her dress, and then she wasn't. She quickly turned to Rachel, burying her face into the crook of her neck. It was one thing for her to cry under the cover of darkness in her car, but in a completely lit room in a place as public as the school? Rachel assumed she was ashamed of it. It wasn't like she had any reason to be. She was a pregnant sixteen year old girl, she was supposed to be lost and scared, no matter how relentlessly the rest of student body treated her like dirt.

As her tears led to muffled sobs, all the brunette could think to do to comfort her was to stroke her hair and whisper softly to her. The things she was saying didn't even really register before she uttered them, it was like her brain had taken the wiring from her mouth and hooked it right up to her chest. It was the only reason she'd allowed the simple phrase of "You're beautiful" to make it past her lips. Instantly, she regretted it, because while Quinn's tears stopped, she also abruptly pulled herself from Rachel's embrace. She didn't even know where such a thought had come from, but it was always there, hanging in the back of her mind every single time she was around Quinn. She'd always just ignored it, but she figured it was bound to slip out sometime. She was never very good at holding her tongue, especially not when it came to Quinn.

"I'm not beautiful. I'm the ugliest person at this fucking school, but nobody seems to see it!" Rachel was taken aback by Quinn's words, not because of their content, but for how much disgust they held. She seemed so completely sickened by herself that it made a pit form in Rachel's stomach and the familiar feeling of tears begin to prickle behind her eyes. She couldn't let them fall, though, not in front of Quinn. It would only make her feel worse. Instead, she fought them back the best she could, forcing her arms back around the blonde and pulling her close. She didn't put up as much of a fight as she'd expected.

"The only one who thinks that is you, and I'm going to be blunt and tell you that it's absolutely not true." Rachel tries her best to exude confidence and she feels like she succeeds. It was a relief to feel Quinn melt against her just a little more, her body fitting against hers in a familiar, comfortable way, baby bump and all. Silence overcame them, the only sounds echoing off the auditorium walls being the occasional sniffle or uncontrollable, heaving sob from Quinn.

"Puck is the father." Quinn's voice is small and muffled by the fabric of Rachel's sweater, but she hears her, clear as day. When she doesn't respond, the blonde dissolved into sobs again, her body shaking. The singer just held her that much tighter, pressing a kiss to the crown of her forehead. She felt like she should feel shocked, or outraged, that she should tell Quinn off for cheating on someone as nice as Finn and for lying to him for so long, but she just doesn't have the heart. It's obvious that she already felt terrible about it, and with each passing day, Rachel found herself shifting alliances. It wasn't that she didn't care for Finn or think he was a nice guy, it was just she didn't care for him like that anymore. Not in the way that she'd be willing to fight for his honor, and she certainly wasn't willing to fight Quinn. The revelation left her feeling fairly unsurprised, like a part of her had suspected it all along but had never bother to voice its opinions to her conscious brain.

"It doesn't change what I said. Any of it." Rachel knows that it's not really what Quinn wanted her to tell her, but it's the truth. Quinn wanted Rachel to call her a terrible person, to go off on her, to knock her off the pedestal she'd been put on at McKinley, but she wasn't going to do it. Quinn deserved to be treated better than that, even if she didn't think she did. Rachel hoped that one day, she would truly learn that.

They were interrupted by the sound of Rachel's phone going off and her hastily answering it. It was her dad, calling to tell her that he was waiting in the parking lot of the school. She got him off the phone as soon as possible, returning her arms to their former position around the pregnant girl, who had finally begun to calm down a bit. She wiped her eyes off with her hands, face turned as much away from Rachel as she could manage. Rachel just smiled. It was true, everything she had said, because even when her eyes were puffy from crying and her cheeks were splotchy and red, she was still the most beautiful person Rachel had ever met.

"You're coming over for dinner tonight." Rachel knew it sounded more like a demand than a question, but Quinn just smiled slightly and didn't attempt to refuse, so she figured it was alright. Quinn followed behind Rachel and her dad in her red compact, as Rachel briefly explained the situation to her dad.

"Well, I'm happy to have her, and I'm sure your daddy is, too." Was all he said, his smile brilliant. Rachel had never been more thankful for her parents' understanding nature in her life.

Quinn was surprisingly warm at dinner, after the awkward first introductions were over and she became comfortable actually being in the Berry household and not just parked outside of it. Dinner with her dads was helping her mood, she could tell, but there was still such a distinct sadness shining in her eyes that Rachel couldn't help but feel her heart break, just a little. Still, Quinn held conversation, and her dads were careful to avoid any subjects that might be upsetting unless Quinn brought them up first. Again, she was thankful for them.

Rachel found herself looking over at the girl sitting next to her, tracing the highlights of her blonde curls with her eyes, following them down to the neckline of her dress and back up again, along her collarbone and down her jaw. Her gaze ghosted over her lips first, which were curled in to a smile, but the smile seemed to fade to something more sorrowful with every passing moment. She forced herself to look upwards, watching Quinn's bright hazel eyes with the intensity of a hawk. She was sure Quinn knew she was staring, but in that moment, she didn't really care, because she could see the beginnings of tears starting to form in her eyes and there was no way she was going to let the girl cry again if she could help it.

Softly, she reached out under the table, grasping for Quinn's hand and entwining their fingers together. Quinn didn't fight it, instead opted to shoot her a look of curiosity, lingering long enough for Rachel to see that any hint of tears had been banished from her eyes. She smiled, and Quinn smiled back, dropping her gaze down to their interlocked hands. Just for a moment, Rachel did the same, taking a moment to revel in how perfect the moment felt, despite all the tears and the sadness. Judging from the way Quinn threw her head back and laughed heartily at something her dad had said, Rachel figured that she wasn't alone in what she was feeling. That thought alone was enough to make her grin through the night, long after Quinn had left for home with a soft 'Thank you' and a hug that had left her feeling breathless.


	3. Part Three

**High Sensitivity**

**Part Three**

It was early December when Rachel found Quinn sitting on the front stairs of the school, a duffle bag sitting next to her. She didn't need to ask to know what had happened, she just hadn't expected it. Finn was a good guy, she hadn't thought that he would kick Quinn out when she revealed her baby's paternal truth. She looked so small, sitting there with her hands in her lap and her head angled down, blonde curls obstructing her face. It was different than she'd ever seen her be before. Sure, she'd broken down in front of her, more than once, but it wasn't like this. She had broken down, but she'd never looked so completely and utterly broken.

"Hey." The brunette was sure to speak as softly as she could manage as she sat down, smoothing her skirt. Quinn looked over at her for a moment, shooting her a sad smile. It was obvious she had been crying, but she wasn't anymore. If anything, she just looked resigned. Rachel didn't miss the way her heart clenched so painfully, just for a moment. "Where are you going to go?" She wasn't sure if the question would make her burst in to tears, so she was glad when the girl just smiled a little bit more.

"Brittany's house. Her parents said I could stay as long as I needed." Her voice wasn't a whisper, it was just meek. Rachel's heart clenched again, for multiple reasons. The first was that the Quinn she knew was quiet and gentle, but never weak in her words. Whereas she tended to exude confidence in the most outward way she could manage, Quinn was more subtle with it. It was something she had envied and come to love, and now she missed it immensely. She just didn't sound the same without it. The second was a sudden, inexplicable burst of anger and sadness. She had called Brittany before she'd called her. It made sense, if she took the moment to actually delve in to it. She and Brittany had been friends for far longer than she had been friends with her, but it still hurt. She wouldn't have thought for a moment before taking her in. Had Quinn doubted that she would say yes? That hurt even more than the fact that she'd called Brittany before her. She thought the girl had come to know her, at least know her and trust her enough to realize that she was inexplicably loyal.

Rachel's eyes dropped in to her lap, while Quinn just stared straight ahead. Their silence was not comfortable, like it usually was, because Rachel couldn't help but exude all the confusion and hurt that she was feeling, and she knew Quinn was perceptive enough to pick up on it but not brave enough to ask what was wrong. She was glad for that, because what was wrong was stupid, anyway, and immature, but she just couldn't stop herself from feeling it.

When Brittany pulled up in her black Toyota, Rachel stood faster than Quinn could, extending a hand to help her up. After a moment's hesitation, Quinn accepted it, allowing Rachel to help pull her to her feet. She reached for the handle of her bag, but Rachel grabbed it first, hoisting it up on to her shoulder.

"Rachel, I can-" She started, as Rachel turned and started walking towards where Brittany had put the car in to park.

"I've got it." Was all Rachel replied with. It didn't matter that she had problems of her own, she was strong, she could handle some of Quinn's stress, too, if it meant that the girl could be happy again. She hadn't looked happy for at least a week, probably because she knew that she had to tell Finn and it was getting to her, but she hadn't confided in her. Rachel just wanted her to know that she wasn't going to think worse of her because she made some mistakes. She would've been so supportive, because telling Finn was the right thing to do, but the girl had never come to her. Brittany opened the back door, and Rachel threw the duffle in to the back seat as Quinn reached the car. Brittany quickly got back in to the driver's seat. Before she could think hard enough to talk herself out of it, the singer pulled Quinn into a tight embrace.

"You don't have to go through this alone, Quinn. I'm here for you." She whispered in to the girl's ear, her only response being the way that Quinn's arms tightened ever so slightly around her waist. She hoped that the girl would listen to her, really take her words to heart, because she felt she might self-destruct if the girl kept shutting her out, and it was exacerbated by the fact that she didn't know why she was feeling anything so strongly about a girl who'd treated her like crap. It didn't make any sense to her, but recognizing that didn't do anything but make the feelings that much more intense. Finally, she let go of Quinn, stepping aside so the girl could climb in the passenger's side door. "Just call me if you need me, okay?" Quinn just smiled and nodded, before shutting the door and driving off, leaving Rachel to her thoughts for the most painfully long five minutes of her life.

She felt like she was drowning in her questions. Every night for the past few weeks, Rachel found herself lying awake at night, staring at the ceiling through the darkness. She'd try to decipher the enigma that was Quinn Fabray, but every night, she just seemed to get further and further away from the answers she craved. There were two different versions of the same girl, the version that Rachel saw at school, and then the version she saw when they were alone, but she didn't know how to tell which one was truly her. She didn't know if she was being lied to, and her own emotions certainly weren't helping her figure any of it out. Sometimes, she'd just stare at the blonde girl, searching for any crack in her façade that could possibly give her some answers, but she'd always end up somewhere else.

It would start with something small, a toss of the head or a small smile, making Rachel's heart beat wildly in her chest. Every thump was deafening, completely blocking out any words being spoken. Her stomach would toss and turn with a nervous energy, and she just knew that if she tried to open her mouth, her voice would crack. She'd gotten to the point that she could recognize when it was starting, but she just couldn't tear her eyes away, instead resorting to biting down softly on her lower lip and waiting until her heart decided that it was done toying with her. It was obvious that she was so completely engrossed in figuring out Quinn, and it was just her body's way of forcing her to focus all her intensity on the girl.

God, she really hoped Quinn had never noticed the staring. Rachel knew she hadn't been exactly subtle, because she caught both Brittany and Santana giving her a curious look during Glee practice one day when she was particularly obvious about the focus of her attention. The singer found herself biting down on her lower lip again, much harder than she usually did. Quinn probably knew, and that was why she called Brittany instead of her. Now, she was probably scared and would pull away, just like everyone else. Or maybe she was annoyed with her, or tired of her, because that wasn't completely improbably either. She'd tried to tone herself down around Quinn, simply because the girl herself was so gentle, but what if it hadn't worked? Quinn was certainly really good at acting, and even though she'd been acting relatively fine around her, it didn't mean that she wasn't annoyed or scared or hurt or anything, really. She forced the thoughts from the front of her mind to the back of her mind. It wasn't like she hadn't already established to herself that she couldn't read Quinn, but it still consumed her. She wanted to know everything about the ex-cheerio that there was to know, but she couldn't have it unless Quinn herself gave it to her. It was infuriating and captivating all at the same time.

Silently, Rachel climbed into the passenger seat of her dad's car when he pulled up, only opening her mouth to utter a quiet "hi" as he greeted her. She was too busy staring straight ahead out the windshield to notice the way he raised his eyebrow at her, and she was far too lost in her thoughts to hear him ask her if she was okay. The sinking feeling in her chest just seemed to get worse the closer they got to home. All she had to look forward to was a night spent at home, alone, leaving her vulnerable and allowing her thoughts to mercilessly pray on her. The longer she was alone meant the more she would dredge up from the depths of her mind. It was going to be impossible to keep her thoughts from wandering, and she knew where she would always end up. Quinn. All of her thoughts seemed to start and end with Quinn.

Thoughts of Quinn invaded her subconscious, striking her when she was most vulnerable. While she was dreaming, there was no way to guard herself from her own thoughts, and there was no way for her to force anything to the back of her mind. It was all front and center, blazing and intense beyond her wildest imagination, painful and pleasurable all at the same time. More nights than one, she'd woken up with a layer of sweat on her forehead and the covers askew, the warm ache between her legs a haunting remnant. She'd never dare mention those dreams, for so many reasons. It was obvious that they didn't mean anything for one, because while she liked Quinn as a friend and cared about her a lot, she didn't like her like that. Her mind was just so horribly confused about what to do with her thoughts and feelings about Quinn that it needed to expel the intense level of emotion before she imploded, and apparently giving her embarrassing dreams were the way to do it. But no one had to know, especially not Quinn, and especially not her dads. Finally, her father's question registered in her head and she nodded.

"I'm fine. It's just been a really long day." She smiled the brightest smile she could at her father, who smiled back, deciding that the answer was sufficient. They'd always had a good relationship, and Rachel was thankful that he realized that she would come to him when she was ready to talk.

The singer spent the rest of the night desperately trying to keep herself busy, to avoid any and all thoughts of Quinn. It worked, for the most part, because homework was too important and too engrossing to allow her mind to wander while doing it, and cleaning needed to be meticulous, so she needed to concentrate, and filming her latest MySpace video required her utmost focus on the song she was performing in order to put in the right amount of passion. Her evening was perfectly fine until she found herself in bed, her clothes changed and her teeth brushed, trying to go to sleep. No matter how hard she tried, her eyes just wouldn't close. She just stared straight ahead, unable to focus on anything in the darkness of her room, forcing her back in to the one place she was trying so desperately to avoid. For once, she cursed her over-active imagination and curious tendencies, because they both would not let her rest. Every time she'd force her eyelids shut, all she'd see was blonde curls and striking eyes that seemed to stare straight in to her core.

A loud buzz emanated from the side table, shocking Rachel in to opening her eyes once more. A gentle light enveloped the room from the front screen of her cell phone. She didn't hesitate to reach over and open it, unable to contain her grin when she saw the message was from Quinn. Sure, she was upset and it was the other girl's fault, but that didn't mean that she didn't want to talk to her. Hastily, she opened the text message.

_Hey, we'll talk tomorrow, okay? Stop worrying so much and get some sleep. 3_

The grin only widened on Rachel's features as she read the text over once again, and then twice. It was the same as it always was, where her heart started beating wildly and her cheeks began to flush and she could feel the nervous energy begin to build in her stomach, but it didn't seem nearly as horrifying when she was alone and didn't need to worry about anyone seeing her acting so weird. It was just what Quinn did to her, with her gorgeous looks and her voice and her gentleness. As she typed madly, Rachel forgot that she was supposed to be mad.

_The same goes for you, and I can't wait. Goodnight!_

She signed the message with a little heart, the same way Quinn had, and didn't feel the least bit embarrassed.


	4. Part Four

**High Sensitivity**

**Part Four**

"I just didn't want to be a burden to you or your dads, and Brittany's parents had already offered me a bed if I needed it. It was just easier, for everyone." Quinn explained from across the table, before taking a bite of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. "It wasn't that I like Brittany better than you or anything like that. I'm sorry that I hurt your feelings." Rachel shook her head softly, pulling her sweater a little tighter around her frame to protect her from the chill December air. Outside was the only place they could eat during lunch and be alone, but Rachel didn't particularly mind being cold if it meant being with Quinn. Quinn didn't seem to mind, either.

"It's okay. I was just being selfish, really." Rachel replied, sparking a semblance of a grin from Quinn.

"Total shocker there." Rachel feigned outrage, and gently kicked Quinn under the table. Quinn just started laughing, making the singer dissolve into giggles to match.

"I thought you were done being a jerk to me."

"I never said I didn't like your personality, now did I?" Rachel could feel her heart skip a beat, but she forced the feeling away, because she knew Quinn would pick up on it if she let the feeling sink in, even just a little bit.

"I suppose not. You just called me names and laughed at me for two years." Rachel had meant it lightheartedly, but Quinn's laughter trailed off and her eyes fell to the wood grain of the table. "Hey, I didn't mean it as a jab or anything. I know you feel bad about it, and I already forgave you." She reached out, taking one of Quinn's hands between hers, holding it gently. "You already have enough going on without worrying about me. I'm fine, really."

"I know. That hasn't kept me from worrying about you…" Quinn mumbled the second sentence, low enough that Rachel almost didn't catch it, but she knew she wasn't mistaken. Her heart skipped a beat again, and she didn't bother to push it away. They fell into a soft silence, both of them pretending to focus on their food to the best of their ability, a general uneasiness surrounding them. Quinn still hadn't spoken about exactly what had happened between her and Finn the day before, and while Rachel desperately wanted to know, she wasn't going to push the girl. She was already upset enough without the singer pressuring her.

"I just let it slip. I didn't mean to tell him that way." Quinn started, her voice confident but her eyes wavering. "It's just…he was trying to be so sweet and it was just making me sick to my stomach. I couldn't hold it back anymore." Slowly, Rachel reached across the table, taking the girl's pale hands in her own and holding them tightly.

"It's okay. Maybe it wasn't the best way of telling him, but there really is no good way of telling someone something like that. He's a good guy, he'll forgive you. It's just gonna take time." Rachel spoke, catching Quinn's gaze before it could fall down to the wood of the table. Her eyes were shining, close to tears, but she knew they wouldn't fall.

"I hope you're right, Rachel…" Quinn spoke softly. Rachel grinned at her, an attempt to cheer away some of her sadness.

"Of course I'm right." Her efforts were rewarded with a sparkling smile.

"How modest you are." Quinn said with a laugh, as she stood up from the table, gathering her things. "Come on, dork, class starts in five minutes." Rachel's grin didn't fade for a second as she followed Quinn back in to the building.

She spent the rest of the day with all of her thoughts fixated on Quinn. It was problematic for her education, because while the teacher was droning on about 19th century German philosophers, all she could think about was Quinn's gorgeous locks and her soft skin and how much she wanted to be with her and touch her and breathe her. Nothing else would hold her interest enough to allow her to force away her thoughts for more than a few minutes at a time, and those few minutes of reprieve were not enough to wipe the remnants of the things she was feeling from her mind. If her day had been just a little more intellectually stimulating, she might have been able to force away her feelings like she always did and keep everything at the status quo. She could have just accepted her feelings as being something pleasant and nothing more. Instead, her mind began to do what it did best when she was focusing on something, and that was analyzing it. She was in her last period of the day before Glee practice when the pieces began to fall together.

The butterflies, the way she'd blush at the slightest touch, the way her rapid heartbeat would block out anything and everything except for Quinn, and god, the shameless flirting. She felt so stupid in that moment, because it was so obvious that all her inexplicable feelings for the pregnant girl over the last few weeks were easily explained. She had a crush.

The admission hadn't sunk in by the time that she entered the practice room, ten minutes before Glee practice was scheduled to start. Letting out a deep sigh in an attempt to stop her trembling proved to be pointless, her fingers shook against the ivory of the piano keys all the same, nearly preventing her from pressing down on them to warm up. It wasn't like she'd never had a crush before, Finn, Puck, and even Mr. Schuester were proof of that. She'd just never had a crush on a girl before, especially not a girl that was Quinn Fabray. She had no problem with same-sex attractions, she'd grown up with her dads, after all, she just had never really expected it to happen to her. Or at least, not like this, not so suddenly. The singer's voice cracked as she tried to hit a high C, forcing her into silence.

The whole thing wasn't even sudden. Even back when Quinn was still the Quinn Fabray that called her man hands, that spark had been there, the spark that made her heart beat faster under Quinn's gaze, no matter how venomous it was. It had grown into something different entirely, and Rachel wasn't exactly sure when it stopped being a spark and started being a charge, when she began to crave the girl's presence, when she went from being pretty to being beautiful. But, it happened, and now that she knew it, it left her with a bigger issue. What could she do about it? Quinn was the pregnant former head of the Celibacy Club, not to mention one of the most religious people Rachel knew. There was no way she'd ever agree to a date, and even if she was willing to go gay, why would she ever do it for her? Most straight guys wouldn't even stoop so low as to date her, so why would the most gorgeous girl in school? Besides, she was single, pregnant, and basically homeless. She had enough on her plate without Rachel adding her romantic, gay drama on top of it.

With sudden fierceness, she pressed down on the keys, the piano releasing a terrible sound. It broke her from her thoughts just as Mr. Schuester entered the room, soon followed by the rest of the club. Standing from the piano bench, the brunette could see two people smiling at her. One was Quinn, and the other was Finn. She didn't think for a second before moving to the empty seat between Brittany and Quinn and sitting down, the hurt look on Finn's face registering from the corner of her eye, but it was quickly overshadowed by Quinn saying a soft 'hello' and beaming at her. All of Mr. Schue's words were lost on her from that point on, until Quinn softly nudged her forward and looked towards Finn, who was already standing.

As the music started, she recognized the song as 'No Air.' She vaguely remembered Mr. Schue saying that they should work on it as a potential song for Sectionals, so that was why it was just her and Finn. Luckily, she managed to be on key and on cue, which she hoped would cover up her distractedness. Finn didn't seem to notice the few times she could actually look him in the face, he was singing just as passionately as he always did, completely oblivious. Her palms began to sweat and she could feel herself shaking, but it wasn't a pleasant nervousness. The intensity of his gaze was making her incredibly uncomfortable, and she just couldn't wait for the song to be over so she could sit back down and get lost in Quinn once more.

As Finn wrapped his arms around her for the last few notes of the song, as their refreshed choreography dictated, Rachel allowed herself to breathe a soft sigh of relief that the song was finally over. Before she could register what was happening, a pair of lips were pressed against hers, hard and chapped, and as quick as they'd come, they were gone. Frozen with her hands on Finn's waist, the brunette looked up, catching his expectant gaze. For the second time that day, Rachel found herself not knowing what to do, only this time left a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

In a quick movement, she turned and pulled from Finn's grip, walking briskly towards the door of the practice room, eyes fixed firmly on the tiles of the floor. She could feel the eyes of everyone in the room on her, hot and questioning, and she had never been more thankful to have the door shut behind her. Hurrying to the bathroom, she found herself in a position she knew all too well, her hands latched on to the sink with an iron grip, eyes focused downwards rather than at her own reflection. At least this time, the tears didn't come, but it didn't help her feel any better. Until a few weeks ago, she would've been ecstatic about a newly-single Finn taking some initiative and kissing her, but now it just made her feel upset. It wasn't his fault, she knew, it wasn't his fault that she just didn't like him anymore, and she knew he was far too dim to notice her subtle change in attitude. She hardly noticed it herself, or at least she didn't understand it. She just wished that if he absolutely had to kiss her, he would've done it anywhere but in the middle of Glee Club, with everyone watching. With Quinn watching. For a second, Rachel felt like she was going to throw up.

Quinn had been watching the whole thing. She was probably upset with her, again, and they wouldn't talk for days and she didn't know if she could take the tense silence when she desperately needed someone to talk to. It was ridiculous, anyway, though, it wasn't like she could actually talk to Quinn about the real reason why she didn't like Finn anymore. She probably wasn't even upset, maybe a little, but she'd write it off as irrational anger brought on by her ex-boyfriend kissing her. Not anything else, not anything deeper. The singer clenched her teeth as tightly as she could, finally forcing herself to look up in the mirror. She was Rachel Berry signed with a gold star, she had her dreams planned out since the age of six and she knew exactly how to reach them. She was the quintessential woman with a plan. The problem was, this time, she didn't.

She was at an absolute loss. She knew she'd have to talk to Finn, but she didn't know how she would rationalize it to him without both revealing what she was feeling and hurting him in the process, which she didn't want to do. Then again, not talking to him would hurt him, and she would risk leading him on even more than she already had. Quinn was another situation entirely. She knew she wouldn't be able to contain her feelings for very long, but she also knew Quinn would probably freak out and pull away if she said anything, and she didn't want to stress the girl more. If she didn't tell her, she'd have to hide much of her reasoning for her weird behavior and lie, which she didn't want to do, either. For once, she was rendered speechless.

Slowly, she released a drawn-out sigh, just as the door to the bathroom swung open with a creaking noise that seemed to echo in the empty room. Much to her surprise, Santana was standing in the doorway, letting the door swing shut behind her. For a moment, they just stared at each other, before Rachel turned her gaze back to the mirror. The tears weren't going to come, but she still looked pitiful, lost, which she absolutely was, but she didn't want Santana to know that.

"Are you alright?" It was a different tone than she'd been expecting, and Santana's trademark sneer was replaced by an indifferent look. "Brittany told me to come check on you." Rachel chuckled slightly, turning so her back was pressed against the sink.

"I figured as much." It wasn't a malicious statement, just a true one. Santana would do anything for Brittany, which apparently included checking on her when Rachel knew she wasn't fond of her. Santana was just quiet for a moment, staring, almost like she didn't really know what to do. She wasn't exactly the comforting type, Rachel knew. Or at least she wasn't with people who weren't Brittany.

"Quinn's upset." Santana spoke, her voice quiet, but not soft. "Brittany's back there comforting her, but it should probably be you. And you should probably tell her that you didn't want to kiss Finn, because while it was obvious to everyone else, she's unable to control her emotions. I really don't want to have to deal with her crying all night, so make your explanation to the point when you do talk to her." Rachel just nodded, and they fell into silence once more. She didn't really know why Quinn was upset, at least not the true reason, but she still felt terrible and it made her feel even more sick. Slowly, she breathed in and out, listening to Santana do the same. She wasn't leaving, and Rachel wasn't quite sure what she wanted, so she just asked the first thing that came to mind.

"How did you admit to Brittany that you were in love with her?" When she finished the question, she immediately clamped her mouth shut, all but certain that Santana was going to hit her or worse. When it didn't come, she realized that Santana hadn't moved, she was just standing perfectly still in the same spot, focusing on everything but her.

"I haven't." Santana spoke quietly, her quiet voice even echoing in the room. Rachel clamped her mouth shut a little tighter, hoping that the Cheerio would continue. She did. "I imagine I'd probably just say it to her, when it felt right for both of us. I think you just have to man up and say 'fuck what people think' and spill everything you feel, or it'll eat you alive." Rachel nodded softly.

"Was that for you or for me?" Everybody knew that Santana and Brittany were completely and utterly in love with each other, they were just waiting for them to finally be official with it. It was obvious that Brittany wasn't the type to care what people thought, so Santana had to be the issue. Or, more appropriately, Santana's issues were the issue.

"Both of us. But seriously, I'm really tired of getting kicked out of Brittany's room every time Quinn needs to talk to someone who isn't you, because she damn well doesn't feel comfortable sharing secrets around me." Santana turned, her skirt mimicking the movements of her body as she began to open the door. Looking over her shoulder, she spoke again. "Britt, Quinn, and I are hanging out after school. You should come. And if you tell anyone anything I said here right now, I'll make you wish you'd never been born." The door shut quietly behind her as she left, leaving Rachel alone once more with a small smile on her face. Santana had practically complimented her, being able to say all that with only one threat attached. The singer had to admit, she was going to owe a lot to her. She'd given her a path, and even though it wasn't a whole lot to go off of, it was something. All she had to do was be confident and bold, which she was something she was good at, letting her walk back in to the practice room with her head held high. Brittany quickly vacated the seat next to Quinn, allowing Rachel to sit down. Quinn was avoiding her eyes, trying to pretend that she wasn't upset when she obviously was. It would've been cute, if Rachel didn't feel so terrible.

Gently, she reached over, grasping the blonde's hand and intertwining their fingers. Rachel knew that dumping all of her newly understood feelings on a girl that wasn't ready for them was a bad idea, so she was going to just start slow. She could do slow, for Quinn, even though she couldn't do it for anyone else. Quinn was a girl that was worth waiting for. For now, Rachel was perfectly content to hold her hand and stroke it softly with the pad of her thumb, actions speaking all the words they both weren't ready to hear.


	5. Part Five

**High Sensitivity**

**Part Five**

Fumbling in the darkness, Rachel grabbed the phone and squinted at the name on the bright caller ID, trying to comprehend why the hell Santana was calling her at three in the morning on a school night. It wasn't really like she ever called her that often in the first place, especially not when they were both supposed to be sleeping. Groggily, she opened the phone, holding it up against her ear.

"Hello…?" Her words were drawn out and quiet, an obvious marker of the fact that she was still half asleep.

"Get up and get dressed, now!" Santana practically yelled from the other end, making Rachel flinch.

"We have school tomorrow and I need to sleep. Your issue can wait until tomorrow, I think." She replied, feeling herself beginning to finally wake up.

"It's not my problem, Berry! Quinn's water broke, and we're gonna pick you up on our way to the hospital, so get your ass out of bed and get ready!" Rachel all but snapped to attention at Santana's words, rolling from under the covers and rushing over to her dresser. The cold air of her room nipped at the vast amount of exposed skin her tank top and shorts allowed, but the feeling couldn't break past the mixture of fear and elation that claimed the forefront of her thoughts. "We're gonna be there in five minutes, so hurry the fuck up!" In record speed, Rachel was at her fathers' door, fully clothed and hair brushed. She would have been proud of herself, if she wasn't so busy trying to convince herself that this was actually happening.

"Dad? Daddy?" She could hear her fathers making groggy noises from their prone position on the bed. "Quinn's having her baby and Santana is coming to pick me up on their way to the hospital so I have to go and I know that I shouldn't be missing school but it's Quinn and this is kind of a big deal-"

"Sweetheart?" Her daddy's voice was soft as he cut her off. "Just go, okay? We'll call you in sick in the morning." Rachel grinned through the darkness, her thank you nearly lost in the sudden flurry of movement that led her to the front door. Santana pulled up just as she locked the door behind her, and Rachel rushed over to the car. Brittany traded her seat in the back for shotgun, allowing Rachel to climb into the spot next to Quinn. Even in the darkness, Rachel could tell she was as white as a sheet. Quickly, she shut the door and buckled her seatbelt, before reaching over and grabbing the blonde's hand, which she clung to tightly. It was obvious she was scared, and really, who wouldn't be? Having a baby in your womb and having a newborn were two totally different things, and Quinn was hardly an adult herself. On top of that, she had no family to support her, only friends, and even those were few and far between.

Rachel hoped that squeezing her hand just a little tighter and smiling just a little wider would communicate what she couldn't say, that it was okay for her to be afraid, because she had people around her who were going to be strong for her. At least, some of the time. They were all scared, even Santana (she could tell from the horrifying speeds the cheerio was traveling at on residential roads), but they could still be strong for Quinn when she needed it the most.

Quickly, Santana pulled up to the closest spot to the ER doors that she could find, all but throwing the car into park and jumping out of the driver's seat to help Quinn out of the back. Rachel and Brittany did the same, and within minutes, they were all but carrying Quinn inside. Santana started yelling for help, but the singer blocked out of voice, focusing instead on her arm across Quinn's lower back and the way that Quinn's slender fingers gripped her shoulder tightly. Leaning over until her lips were near the blonde's ear, she whispered.

"It's going to be okay, Quinn." She hoped it would calm the girl's nerves, because she could feel the tenseness in her muscles beneath her fingers, but it didn't really seem to have any effect. Instead, she suddenly turned her head towards Rachel, their faces so close that their noses were nearly touching.

"Please don't leave me." She pleaded, her gorgeous eyes watery as she stared directly into Rachel's. They were filled with such utter desperation and fear that Rachel couldn't help but feel a sick, sad feeling clench her heart tightly. In a moment of craziness, she nearly leaned forward, closing the gap between them to gently press their lips together, but she immediately thought better of it. Quinn had enough to worry about without worrying about Rachel's intense crush on her. There would be plenty of time to discuss it later, and right now she knew Quinn just needed her to be there and hold her hand.

"Of course I won't." The brunette responded firmly, unable to shake the urge to kiss her completely. Words just didn't seem to be sufficient to express what she wanted to express, and it was frustrating. She was so happy and nervous and scared and ecstatic and Quinn looked so absolutely gorgeous even though she was more sad and nervous and excited than she was that Rachel could barely contain herself with the blonde so absolutely close. It would've been so easy to close the small distance, it would've only been a few seconds. It could even make Quinn feel better, she didn't know what her feelings were.

Before she could talk herself into leaning in, Quinn's gaze was torn from her own as two doctors urged her to lay down on a gurney. Her hand quickly reached out for Rachel's, holding on to it for dear life as the doctors began to wheel her into the hallway. One doctor tried to stop her from following, but he barely got a word out before Quinn barked.

"There's no way in hell she's not coming with us!" For a moment, Quinn became Quinn Fabray, Head Bitch In Charge, and it made Rachel smile for the first time. It was different when her anger was directed at someone other than her, especially in defense of her. Rachel just held her hand a little tighter, not really caring that Quinn was cutting off the circulation to her fingers or that her heart was beating so fast that she felt like she couldn't breathe, because there were so many reasons that this moment was amazing and she just wanted to absorb them as much as possible. Quinn was really having her baby, the sweet baby girl that Rachel expected to have Quinn's gorgeous facial structure and Noah's coloring, with eyes that were just as deep and enrapturing as her mother's.

Something about the fact that Quinn was keeping her baby sparked a warm feeling in Rachel's chest. It wasn't like the blonde was planning on raising her baby with her or anything, but that didn't keep Rachel's heart from wanting to take care of both Quinn and her daughter. Her heart of course insisted that it was _their_ daughter, but Rachel just pushed that thought out of her head like she had done so well before. It wasn't decent, after all, she didn't know what Quinn wanted and it wasn't her place to assume. It was her daughter after all, and she didn't even know if Quinn liked her. At least, not like that. Her thoughts were inappropriate, and overbearing, so she banished them, instead trying to focus on something else.

It was all such a blur, as the doctors wheeled Quinn into a white room and helped her onto the bed, saying things that didn't really seem to process in Rachel's mind, but Quinn was nodding and speaking softly so she figured it was alright. Pulling a chair right up next to the bed as the doctors left the room, the singer grabbed a hold of Quinn's hand, leaning forward to press a soft kiss to her forehead. When she pulled away, Quinn was smiling at her, and it didn't bear the usual sadness that surrounded her since she'd gotten pregnant. Her eyes were shining with something else, and she looked so radiant that Rachel knew she was staring, but she couldn't pull away. Quinn didn't, either, her eyes flicking momentarily from Rachel's, and then back again.

"She's going to be beautiful. You don't have to be afraid." The words escaped from Rachel's lips before she even processed thinking about saying them, and the blonde's smile faltered for just a moment.

"I'm scared I won't be good enough for her." Her voice was quiet, but it echoed off the empty walls. Her eyes fell to her lap. With her free hand, Rachel reached out, cupping Quinn's cheek gently and forcing her to look up once again.

"You will be. You're going to be a great mom, Quinn." Rachel smiled a little brighter. "And even if you feel like you can't do it, you have me, and Brittany, Santana, and Glee. We're all here for you." Softly, she stroked the skin beneath her thumb, and Quinn leaned in to her touch, both falling into silence until a doctor walked in to the room once more.

The next seven hours were a blur of doctors and calming words, the only stable thing being Quinn's hand clutching hers like she never wanted to let go. It really didn't matter if she was going to have bruises, because Quinn was the one who was sweaty and whimpering in pain and she needed someone to be there for her. Rachel found herself whispering soft words in the blonde's ear while the doctor tried to calmly give her direction, her fingers brushing light locks of hair out of her face before she pressed a kiss to her temple. She didn't know what she was doing, not really, all she knew was that Quinn was in a lot of pain and she was scared, and that they were both hoping this whole ordeal would soon be over.

With one final push, it was, and Quinn's baby girl was screaming and crying as the doctors rushed to clean her up. Quinn let out a sigh of relief, whether it was for the safety of her little girl or for the fact that it was finally over or both, Rachel didn't know. She just smiled and Quinn smiled back, before one of the nurses handed a little bundle to her with the tiny newborn inside. The look on Quinn's face, a look of pure joy and awe, left Rachel feeling breathless as she just stared at them both. Quinn finally released her hand, using both arms to cradle her daughter, gently reaching out and touching the girl's nose and cheeks. It was absolutely adorable. Rachel just leaned back in her chair and watched Quinn coo at her daughter, speaking in a hushed whisper either from the silence of the room or out of exhaustion, until the nurse came back in with paperwork on a clipboard.

"Do you have a name for her, dear?" The nurse asked softly, smiling down at Quinn with a pen in hand. Quinn smiled back up at her and nodded.

"Addison Eva Fabray." She replied, and the nurse wrote it down before speaking again.

"We have to take her and do a few tests and take a few measurements. Is that alright?" Quinn nodded again, handing the bundle over with a sense of reluctance that Rachel had learned to recognize long before. Finally, though, it was without an accompanying sense of sadness. Gently, the singer reached out and rubbed Quinn's shoulder.

"She's beautiful…" Rachel spoke softly, and Quinn looked gorgeous as she beamed up at her.

"Yeah, she is." Rachel continued to rub her shoulder softly, helping to lull the blonde's eyes shut and encouraging her to drift off to sleep. Her breathing soon evened out and Rachel pulled her hand back, pleased when the girl didn't wake up. She needed sleep, after all, and Rachel could ignore the heaviness weighing down her eyelids for a few more hours so she could get a little rest without having to worry about the safety of her baby. It wasn't long until the nurse returned with Addison cradled in her arms, taking one look at Quinn before smiling.

"I figured she'd probably be asleep by the time we got back." The nurse spoke, and Rachel just smiled softly. "Do you want to take her or should I put her in the nursery until she wakes up?"

"I'll take her." Rachel stood from her seat and walked up to the nurse, gingerly taking Addison from her arms like she was made of glass. It felt surprisingly natural, holding her, and she was so small! She beamed down at the girl, who was staring up at her with wide eyes and a blank expression. Still, she was the most beautiful girl she'd ever seen, besides her mother, of course. Quickly, she looked up to the nurse, who was just smiling at them both still. "Thank you." The nurse nodded and left, leaving Rachel to return to her seat. She just cradled the little girl close to her chest, all traces of sleepiness gone when she looked into Addison's eyes.

She had been right in her prediction earlier, the baby did have Noah's coloring, with skin that was a darker color than her mother's and eyes that were nearly as dark as her own. Even though she was just a baby, she could already tell that she would hold the same soulfulness in her eyes that Quinn did, the kind that had the ability to be so beautiful and yet so sorrowful. Her head was covered in a thin layer of dark locks that were certainly darker than Quinn's, but not as deep as her father's. Rachel couldn't tell if her idea that Addison was going to make a gorgeous girl were biased or not, but that didn't stop her from feeling so.

Holding Addison firmly with one arm, the singer reached out with a free hand to gently poke at the baby's tiny hands, feeling a swell of pride and love in her heart when she tried to weakly grasp at her finger. Her heart was thudding violently in her chest, but it was different than she was used to. She felt such a sudden surge of protectiveness and love for both Quinn and her baby that she was certain her feelings were not socially appropriate to be feeling for your best friend and her newborn baby. A baby that wasn't hers, by any means. The thought made her heart drop a little, but she pushed it away. Of course she was going to be a large part of both Quinn's life and Addison's, but it wasn't everything she desired. She figured she just wanted too much, like she did with everything else.

Gently, Rachel placed both her arms under and around Addison, cradling her, before beginning to speak to her in a hushed whisper to avoid waking Quinn. She talked about everything she could think of, she talked about Glee and singing, and how she was going to make certain that she had all the best of vocal and dance training from a young age. She talked about New York City and how excited she was to go pursue her dreams there, all the while insisting that she would take her as many times as she could. She talked her fellow gleeks and how excited they were going to be to meet her. Anything and everything she could think of just spilled out of her mouth while Addison stared directly at her, until she inevitably reached the subject of Quinn.

"Your mom…your mom and I have a very close relationship. Well, at least now we do, we were never very close up until a few months ago. She used to be really mean to me, but I think you changed that. I think having you in her belly made her think about a lot of things and about herself, and I think that's healthy. She's grown up a lot, and I know she's going to be a great mom to you. You know, I kind of hope I can be, too, but don't tell her that." Rachel bit down on her lower lip slightly, pausing. She knew what she wanted to say, but saying it in her head and saying it out loud were two completely different things.

"I'm pretty sure that I'm in love with her. There's nothing else that can explain everything I've been feeling. And I love you, too, I have since all we had of your were sonogram pictures. I can't tell her any of this, though, so it'll be our little secret. You won't tell, will you?" Addison cooed quietly at her question, and Rachel just smiled down at her, feeling tears begin to well in her eyes. "That's my girl, I knew you wouldn't."

Rachel knew that there would be a day that she wouldn't be able to contain her feelings anymore, a day where they would just spill over and she would have the possibility of ruining everything she'd delicately built with Quinn. She knew she couldn't live in fear of that possibility, though, as she held the baby in her arms. All she could do was cherish the time she got to spend with both Quinn and Addison, and when the time came where her heart felt like it was going to burst open from raw emotion, she would face the consequences of her admissions with her head held high, the same way that she always did. Even though her mind seemed to know that Quinn would never return her feelings, her heart continued to hold on to hope. It was the hope that while she so desperately wanted to reveal the feelings that burned deep in her chest, while she wanted to kiss all of Quinn's sadness and fears away, that Quinn herself wanted nothing more than to do the same.


	6. Part Six

**High Sensitivity**

**Part Six**

For the first time since she was born, Quinn accepted the Berry men's offer to watch Addison for a night so they could go out and have some fun. Not that Rachel didn't love spending time with both Quinn and Addison, but she was thankful for the prospect of a night alone. She could feel herself growing ever closer to what she just knew was her tipping point, the point when her emotions would finally spill over. It was impossible for her to hold them back forever, especially when every moment spent with Quinn and her baby just seemed to feed her love, to bring her one step closer to madness. Still, she wouldn't have it any other way.

"So, what do you want to do tonight?" Quinn asked, looking at her outfit in the mirror, a flowing summer dress that Rachel thought looked absolutely gorgeous on her. While the blonde's back was turned to her, the singer took a moment to look her up and down, feeling an undeniable pull in her chest that had almost become commonplace. Despite the fact that it was summer, Quinn's skin was still pale, standing out brilliantly against the steel blue color of her dress as much as her golden locks. She often caught the ex-cheerio looking at herself in the mirror with a forlorn expression before saying that she looked terrible, no matter how hard Rachel insisted that she was gorgeous. It was the truth, too. No matter what pregnancy had done to her body, she was still the most stunning girl Rachel had ever seen, and she was pleased to see that motherhood made her glow as beautifully as her pregnancy did.

"I don't know. Anything you want to do is fine with me. Maybe we could go see a movie? But it's so gorgeous outside, we should go to the park or something like that!" Rachel spoke from her spot on the bed as she pulled on her shoes, finally tearing her eyes away from the milky expanse of Quinn's exposed legs before the other girl could catch her staring.

"What if we go for a drive?" Quinn turned as she spoke, a soft smile on her face. Rachel nodded with enthusiasm, smiling back. She could help but remember their previous drives and what happened during them, nearly forcing a blush to her cheeks despite their innocence. It was one of the things she missed the most, so she couldn't help but agree with the idea.

Soon after, they were situated in Quinn's car, the windows rolled down as they headed towards the farmland on the outskirts of Lima. The wind felt fantastic as it whipped her hair around, cooling the uncomfortable warmth of the sun. She stuck her arm out the window, flattening her hand to ride the wind. They talked about nothing in particular, just enjoying each other's company along with the scenery passing by at faster and faster speeds as they left the city. Rachel smiled as they pulled over, miles away from Lima, at a small pull-off on the outskirts of open farmland. She recognized it from the day that Quinn had first stood up for her in Glee, and that fact just made her smile more.

"I've really missed this…" Quinn's voice was light and airy, her hair brilliant in the sunlight. "You know, going out with you." Rachel knew that the sudden feeling of warmth in her cheeks had nothing to do with the weather. She looked down into her lap for a moment, trying to cool herself off before she said something she'd regret saying. "Not that being with you and Addi isn't wonderful, it is, but I just miss being with _you_." It was so easy for Quinn to ruin the singer's efforts with a single statement or an intense look. The blush flared up in Rachel's cheeks again, no matter how hard she tried to wrestle it away. She couldn't meet the blonde's eyes, even though she knew the girl was staring at her. Unconsciously, she smoothed out her skirt. It was like all the air had been sucked out of her lungs as Quinn stared silently at her, replaced with something much heavier.

"Rachel, why do you take such good care of Addi and I?" The blonde's question was barely a whisper, and it caught Rachel off guard when it really shouldn't have. It wasn't like she'd been oblivious to the sadness in Quinn's eyes for the first few weeks after Addison was born. Noah never came to the hospital to see his little girl, nor did he call or even try to contact her. Even though Quinn didn't want to raise her daughter with him, she'd still hoped that he would want to be a part of her life, and the realization that he didn't want anything to do with them forced her to tears. Rachel had held her, like she always did, sadness in her heart for Quinn's insecurities, and anger at Noah's behavior. She just hugged Quinn a little tighter and rubbed her back and told her that everything was going to be okay.

Rachel wasn't lying, either. She really thought everything was going to turn out alright, in the end. It would have been a relief to her that Noah wasn't trying to be in his daughter's life if it didn't make Quinn so sad. She'd wanted to raise Addison with her, after all, and that's where fate carried them. Quinn moved in to their spare bedroom a month after she gave birth, insisting that she didn't want to be a burden on anybody, and that's why she'd moved out of Brittany's in the first place. The Berry's just smiled warmly, and Rachel knew she'd beamed at her. She was so excited to be able to spend even more time with both Addison and her mother, and Quinn was thankful for the ability to take a break while Rachel or her dads took care of the baby. For as sweet and helpful as Santana and Brittany had been, they weren't exactly the best at babysitting.

Spending time with Addi was wonderful. The little girl was absolutely adorable, and the singer loved just carrying her around the house while she did her day-to-day activities, talking all the while. She'd read that talking to babies helped them develop complex speech faster, so she always talked about whatever she could think of. Quinn liked to complain that she didn't want her daughter talking like Rachel, but the brunette had caught her watching her and Addi with a smile more than once. It was moments like those that made it hard for Rachel to contain herself. Her chest would always feel so warm, her heart beating fast, everything in her body telling her to just kiss Quinn and satiate the desire that had situated itself deep inside of her. Always, her mind would catch her at the last second, resulting in a sudden detour of her lips to press kisses to Quinn's cheek or forehead. She didn't want to think about how utterly transparent she was being when it came to both Addison and her mother, and she didn't want to stop.

"I…I just…" Rachel struggled to find the right words. It wasn't like she could just come out and say what she was thinking, because the most appropriate reason was completely inappropriate for the situation. She couldn't just tell Quinn that she was in love with her, especially not while they were sitting in her parked car in the middle of Ohio farmland. "I just really care about you both." The heat behind her cheeks felt like it was burning her, her eyes deliberately avoiding Quinn's intense gaze.

"Okay." Quinn's voice was tiny, and Rachel felt the heavy feeling of her gaze leave her. Slowly releasing the breath that she didn't know she'd been holding, the singer dared to steal a glance at the girl next to her, only to find herself unable to tear away. Tears were pricking in hazel eyes as she stared straight ahead, taking longer than usual to realize that Rachel was staring.

"Oh, Quinn-"

"You know you can tell me anything, right, Rachel?" Her voice wavered slightly with the strain of holding back her tears. Guilt settled in Rachel's chest. "I don't want you to feel like you have to keep anything from me. I don't want us to be like that."

"I'm not keeping anything-"

"Rachel-" Quinn abruptly cut herself off, head turning towards the passenger side window. "Just, never mind. Forget I said anything."

Rachel bit down hard on her tongue, forcing her gaze away from the blonde as her vision began to blur. The silence between them was thick and heavy, filling the singer's lungs, drowning her. It was her fault Quinn was upset, but she knew she couldn't just come out and say everything she so desperately wanted to. The words worked their way to the tip of her tongue, and she clenched her jaw together that much harder to keep them inside. Selfishness, that's what was fueling these urges. She felt the need to tell Quinn that she loved her because she wanted the blonde's love in return. In those momentary lapses of judgment, she wasn't thinking about the possible consequences of her actions, and how they would most definitely end in disaster. It was obvious that the blonde didn't love her back, not in the way she wanted, and telling her would just shatter her ideas about their relationship. This would leave them both with no major support structure and no one to turn to, and she knew Quinn couldn't deal with that. Rachel wasn't even sure that she could recover from losing them.

Quinn and Addison had quickly become the brunette's world. It seemed like all of her thoughts were preoccupied with them, whether it be just about daily things she had to do or about her intense and near-uncontrollable feelings for them both, and they had weaved themselves intricately into the fabric of her life. She couldn't deal with just losing them, not because of some stupid slip-up on her part. Rachel's fingernails dug in to the soft skin of her upper arms, a constant reminder to keep herself in check. She swallowed thickly, eyes diverting from the blonde as she started the car.

"We should go back. It's getting late, and Addison gets antsy when I'm not home to put her down." Were the words that left Quinn's mouth, but Rachel knew it meant 'I can't stand to be around you any longer.' She forced her dark eyes to focus on the shadows of the fields outside of the passenger side window, nails digging that much deeper when she felt the first of the hot tears roll down her cheeks. The muffled noise of her crying was all that broke the stillness of the car the entire way back to Lima.

As soon as they got through the front door, Quinn fled to her room to be with Addison. Rachel tried her best to dart up the stairs without her fathers noticing her state, but to no avail. One look at her reddened eyes and her dads both stopped what they were doing and stood.

"Rachel, honey? What's wrong?" Her daddy asked, walking over to her. Before she knew what she was doing, she found herself enveloped in her dad's arms, sobbing heavily into his chest.

"Did something happen with Quinn?" Her dad was speaking softly, but despite his tone, the small girl couldn't help but cry harder. When her tears began to soak through his sweater, she pulled back, wiping furiously at her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Honey, why don't you sit down." Her dad guided her down onto the couch, soon to be flanked by both of her fathers. There was a comforting hand rubbing her back, enough to keep her from breaking down again, but just enough.

"Your dad and I know that you have reasons for why you're doing what you're doing." Her daddy was speaking slowly, like he was trying to avoid setting her off again. "But we really think that it would be in both of your best interests to talk to her." Rachel's head snapped up, teary gaze fixing on her dad for a moment, then her daddy.

"You know…?" Rachel's breath caught in her throat. She thought she had been sneaky with her feelings, only exposing them when they were harmless, when no one would find out. Apparently, her efforts had crashed and burned. Suddenly, it clicked. If her dads could see it, it was likely that Quinn could see it, too. It was probably why she had been acting so weird in the car. The singer still didn't know what she had wanted. It just wasn't possible that she had wanted Rachel to expose her true feelings. It wasn't what she wanted. Doubt dug itself deep into her stomach. What if Quinn wanted it, wanted her? No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't shake the thought.

"We're not blind, sweetheart." Her dad rubbed her back softly. "Just talk to her. We all know that you don't have any problems with talking to people." Managing to smile at her dads, Rachel headed for the stairs, scaling them in a daze. When she snapped out of her thoughts, she was standing inches from Quinn's door. She so desperately wanted to just open the door and tell Quinn everything, but she couldn't find the words. How do you tell someone that you're completely and utterly in love with them, and that you have been for months? How could she possibly explain all the thoughts and feelings she'd been having? It was impossible, because there _weren't_ words for it, and it wasn't like she could just barge in and kiss her. What if she didn't feel the same way? But what if she did? The thought played over and over again in Rachel's brain as she continued to stand there, arms all but pinned at her sides. All she had to do was open the door and talk to the blonde, it was that simple.

Instead, she turned and walked to her own room, shutting the door behind her.

* * *

Rachel's eyes were transfixed on the sky, watching as the sun began to rise higher and higher above the horizon. It was blissfully quiet, making her thankful for the fact that most people didn't get up so early in the summer. She had spent the night tossing and turning, unable to banish thoughts of Quinn from her mind. She knew she was going to have to talk to her, but her night of sleeping on it had done nothing but left her even more clueless than before.

The mug of tea felt comfortably warm beneath her fingers, steam heating her face as she took a sip. It pushed back the words that had been on the tip of her tongue for weeks, drowning them, but it was only a moment before they resurged with a vengeance.

"I love you." Rachel whispered it to herself, the sounds feeling so foreign and yet so right in her mouth. Letting out a sigh, she took another sip of tea, leaning against the railing of the deck. Nothing she was doing was quelling the urge to say those three words to Quinn. She couldn't help but think that maybe that was the best way to do it, that maybe that was all she could say to describe it, maybe Quinn wouldn't need any more to understand. Once those thoughts permeated the singer's mind, they just wouldn't leave.

Maybe she could just say it, make it easy for everyone. It wasn't like there was a certain way to phrase it that would make Quinn feel any differently about her. She just felt what she felt, the same way Rachel did. Slowly, she sucked in a breath, filling her lungs with air before letting it out slowly. It didn't keep her from trembling.

Turning at the sound of the sliding door opening, she was surprised to see Quinn standing in the doorway, her hair mussed in the same way that it always was in the morning. A smile tugged at the corners of her lips as the blonde walked up next to her, leaning against the railing. Neither of them spoke at first, both their gazes fixed on the backyard, but Rachel had no problem telling when Quinn diverted her attention. The heat in her cheeks was stifling, but she couldn't keep herself from meeting the hazel eyes that seemed to follow her everywhere.

"I'm sorry, Rachel…" If she hadn't already lost the moment she met Quinn's gaze, she would've at the gentle tone of her words. Everything came rushing forward, the embers in her heart erupting into a blaze. It would've hurt if she didn't want it so much. Rachel knew that she had to be some sort of masochist, because there was really no other way to explain why she'd want to feel such intense love for someone that she was certain could never reciprocate her feelings. It enveloped her, quickly spreading through her body, to the tips of her fingers and her toes, her heart beating faster with every second their gazes remained locked. It was exhilarating and terrifying, and she never wanted it to end.

Inevitably, though, it did. Addison's cries echoed down the stairs, and Quinn immediately took a step backwards, only stopping when Rachel quickly reached out and grabbed her hand.

"I forgive you." Rachel replied, squeezing her hand just a little bit tighter. "Let me calm her down, alright? Just make yourself a cup of tea or something." As soon as Quinn nodded, Rachel was hurrying inside and up the stairs, to the guest room that Quinn and Addison shared. She grabbed the infant out of the crib with care, gently rocking her back and forth in her arms until the girl's cries faded into quiet noises and then silence. Slowly, she sat down on the mattress, smiling at the tiny baby in her arms. Sometimes, it was hard to believe that all this had really happened, that the girl she was holding was Quinn's, that Quinn was living in her house, that they'd actually become friends. It was all so surreal.

Rachel was so distracted by the intense way Addi was staring up at her that Quinn's presence didn't register until the blonde was sitting down beside her. She leaned over, resting all her weight on her left arm that was positioned behind Rachel's back. The brunette's skin burned at every spot Quinn's arm touched, even beneath a layer of fabric. It was getting harder to breathe, and it certainly didn't help that Quinn dropped her head softly against her shoulder and left it there.

"You're so good with her…" Rachel couldn't help but smile at Quinn's soft words as the blonde reached out, gently brushing the cheek of her daughter's face with her finger. Addi gurgled and Rachel's smile brightened. For the longest while they just stayed like that, Rachel holding Addi and Quinn resting gently on her shoulder. Like before, the moment had to end, no how much Rachel never wanted it to. "Rachel, I need to confess something." Rachel turned towards Quinn as the blonde's gaze fixated on her own, her heart threatening to beat a hole through her chest.

"I was awake, the day Addi was born." Once those words left Quinn's mouth, Rachel wasn't sure that she was breathing at all. "I heard what you said, well, at least part of it…"

"Oh." Was all she could really say. What else was there to say? Quinn had heard her confess some of her most troubling secrets, and she'd never said anything. She'd known all along that Rachel was in love with her, and she'd never said anything. The singer didn't have the presence of mind to be angry, all she could muster was nervousness, embarrassment, and fear. The blush that painted her cheeks was enough evidence of that, and she couldn't smile when Quinn smiled softly at her.

"I've been thinking about it a lot, everything you said. After yesterday, I just….I just need to know if you meant it." Rachel stood slowly, gently placing the infant back into her crib before turning towards Quinn.

"Of course I meant it. I should probably be offended that you would even a little bit worried that I had said something of that magnitude without meaning it, even if I was technically talking to a child, who didn't really seem to care what I was saying anyway. I'm not the kind of person to so blatantly lie to someone about something like that, and I especially wouldn't lie to Addison. My fathers made a point of always being honest with me, and that seemed to turn out well, so-" Her rambling was cut off when Quinn stood and gently pressed a warm finger against her lips with a laugh.

"You talk too much, sometimes." The blonde was smiling, and Rachel couldn't figure out how to smile back over the pounding of her heart in her ears. She figured that this was what it felt like when her subconscious took over, leaving her to fall prey to her own mind's desires. Everything felt unreal, like she was dreaming. Much to her surprise, she never, ever wanted to wake up from this.

The warmth of Quinn's finger as she traced up her jaw line was but a momentary distraction, stealing the brunette's focus, before their eyes reconnected. A soft gasp escaped her lips as the smile slowly faded from Quinn's lips, all the energy redirected to her gaze. Rachel could've sword that she stopped breathing, Quinn's intensity slowly forcing the air from her lungs, replacing it. The deafening sound of thudding in her ears abruptly lead to silence as slender fingers cupped her cheek, like the same slender fingers had wrapped themselves around her heart and forced it to stop, giving her enough time to slip inside.

It was what Quinn had been doing since day one: slipping in through the cracks. She slipped in where Rachel least expected her, settling down inside and making a nest that slowly grew into something so much more, something that seemed to engulf her with every lingering touch and gaze. The realization crept up on her as she let out a shaky breath, Quinn taking a step forward, leaving them mere centimeters from touching. There was no way she could live without her, not now that she'd subconsciously given so much of herself to the girl that she was certain would never give herself back.

Quinn leaned in and Rachel's body reacted without her volition, their lips meeting like it was the most natural thing in the world, and suddenly her heart started beating again. The blonde's lips were warm and soft beneath her own, the light vanilla taste of her chapstick all but overwhelming her. She felt like she was burning all over, but all she could do was pull Quinn that much closer, her arms wrapping tightly around her waist.

Just like she was the one to start it, Quinn was the one to pull away, her chest heaving and cheeks tinged pink in a way that would've taken Rachel's breath away if she had any left to take. Lightly, she pressed their foreheads together, a ghost of a smile returning to her lips. It was then that the singer saw that she'd been wrong all this time. Every moment that Quinn had managed to anchor herself that much more inside of her, she had been doing the same inside of Quinn. She could see it reflected in her eyes, feel it radiating from her gentle embrace. Rachel softly moved her hand from its position in the small of her back up to the left side of her chest.

"I think I love you." Quinn doesn't say the words so much as she breathes them, warm and sweet against Rachel's lips. Ever so slightly, she pressed the pads of her fingertips down on Quinn's chest, the blonde's heart thudding hard like a greeting.

"I know I love you." Those were the words that had been lingering on the tip of her tongue and haunting her dreams for what seemed like an eternity, and the moment that they slipped past her lips it was like a floodgate had been opened. Suddenly, she could breathe again, truly breathe, and her heart was beating so hard she could feel it pulsing through her fingertips, like it was reaching out to meet Quinn's.

"Can I kiss you again?"

Rachel captured her lips in a searing kiss before she could manage to answer Quinn's question.


End file.
